Vancouver / Names / B / Brail

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Brails

In the city directories 1940 · five people at four addresses

The directories print five people named Brail at four addresses in 1940 in three of the city's neighbourhoods. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family.

Reserve this family's book, freeThe name in every directory we hold from 1901 to 1945, at every address, each line with its page, to read here or save as a PDF. About $29 when orders open.

Where the Brails lived

Each pin is on its own block, numbered as the households below. Today's land, parks, main roads and local areas: City of Vancouver Open Data (Open Government Licence – Vancouver).
  1. 1

    3050 Oak Street

    Fairview, 1940

    • D Brail, in drugs 1940
  2. 2

    3175 Oak Street

    Fairview, 1940

    • D Brail, in drugs 1940

    Next door in 1940: J H Hunt at 3145 and V L Stephenson at 3183. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    3857 West 20th Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • S Brail, proprietor of Brail's Central Barber Shop 1940

    Next door in 1940: W J Saltmarsh at 3851 and H W Seamon at 3863. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    3492 West 6th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • N Brail, a shoemaker for P Paris 1940
    • Robert Brail, of Wallach & Brail 1940

    Next door in 1940: L F Stanley at 3482. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the five: a drugs, a proprietor and a shoemaker.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Fairview (2), Dunbar-Southlands and Kitsilano. Each neighbourhood's page shows its trades, its people and every street in it, the way the directory printed them.

The story, address by address

In 1940 the directory lists D Brail at 3050 Oak Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists David Brail there as the householder, in drugs. In 1940 the directory lists D Brail, in drugs, at 3175 Oak Street.

S Brail is listed at 3857 West 20th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked *: some member of the family owns the property, to the best of our knowledge (the directory's own mark). The 1940 name section lists Sam Brail there as the householder, proprietor of Brail's Central Barber Shop. N Brail is listed at 3492 West 6th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Nevan Brail there as the householder, a shoemaker for P Paris, with Nancy Brail, a saleswoman at Famous, and Robert Brail, of Wallach & Brail.

Today

3050 Oak and 3857 West 20th still have their buildings from before 1946, 3857 West 20th on the Vancouver Heritage Register; the City no longer lists 3175 Oak and 3492 West 6th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 9 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
1940

British Columbia and Yukon Directory, street section

The book of the Brails

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Brail name in each Vancouver directory we hold from 1901 to 1945: everyone printed under it at every address, their work from the name sections, who lived next door, and the page behind every line, to read here or save as a PDF to print or give.

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Another name, or a house

Sources

Henderson's and successor city directories for Vancouver, read by us line by line: the street sections for 1905, 1915, 1925, 1935, 1940 and 1945, and the name section for 1930 and 1940 where we've read it (Vancouver Public Library, BC City Directories). Names are shown through 1945, as printed. Close spellings are grouped, as on the house pages, since a family's name was often spelled differently from one year to the next; one name can still be several families, and we join lines only where the first names or initials agree. Many Chinese, Japanese and other residents weren't named by the canvassers, so they can't be listed by name: their houses' pages say where. More family names under B. Want a name removed? Tell us.